13/01/2012 Spotlight

The 79-year-old man who killed his wife because he couldn't cope with

her dementia is jailed for 12 months. You would have to be

desperate and could not see any way out of the situation.

Good evening and welcome to Spotlight. More reaction on the

sentencing of Malcolm Beardon in a moment. Also tonight...

A conman escapes jail - Stephen Sicklemore used a dirty and squalid

workshop to make poor quality dentures, conning customers out of

hundreds of thousands of pounds. And the new age of the train - our

branch lines are the busiest they've ever been.

A pensioner from Somerset who 'snapped' and killed his wife of 58

years has been jailed for 12 months. Malcolm Beardon from Wellington had

been caring for his childhood sweetheart Margaret for over a

decade. She'd been suffering from dementia and Exeter Crown Court

heard he lost control. Today the judge said "to describe this case

as tragic would be a significant understatement." John Maguire

reports. They were barely into their

twenties when Malcolm and Margaret became man and wife. This was their

home in Wellington for 50 years. They brought up a family here. The

house is E-mail [email protected] in it. They

were devoted to each other and for the past decade he had been there a

full-time carer. Dementia took hold. She no longer recognised her home,

her family and her husband and last July, he snapped. At a previous

hearing the court was told that Malcolm Beardon lost control that

night, as he gently strangled his wife. He rang his daughter to tell

her he'd murdered Margaret but the prosecution accepted a plea of

manslaughter due to be exceptional circumstances. In passing sentence

the judge said that to describe the case as tragic would be a

significant understatement. The principle of the sanctity of human

life would be undermined, he said, if a custodial sentence wasn't

passed. He ordered Mr Beardon to serve 12 months in jail. He had

always insisted that he could cope, rejecting offers of help, but

clearly he couldn't. Tonight, carers are being urged not to

suffer in silence. The issue is that most people don't identify

themselves as carers, because why wouldn't you care for you family?

We want more people to identify themselves to get the support they

need, to stop them coming into crisis situations. Malcolm

Beardon's family have supported him throughout and were in court again

today. They have lost their mother and now their father is in prison

for something the court heard was done in a moment without malice,

without motive, but that will haunt Mr Beardon for the rest of his days.

A man condemned as "a dental charlatan" by a judge has been

given a suspended jail sentence after conning scores of people

across Devon and Cornwall out of thousands of pounds for shoddy

dentures made in a squalid laundry room at his home. Stephen

Sicklemore, who's from Dawlish, set up a company called The Denture

Clinic. He took impressions and made sets of teeth, despite being

unqualified to carry out the highly skilled work. Sicklemore is thought

to have made around �200,000 from his crimes. He was today given a

nine month jail sentence, suspended for two years. Our home affairs

correspondent Simon Hall reports. Modern dentures are made with great

processing. Measurements are taken to fractions of a millimetre. High-

quality materials like titanium and specially designed plastics are

used to make them as comfortable, hard-wearing and natural-looking as

possible. This is how it should be done. This is how it shouldn't.

Dentures made from poor-quality materials in the dirty surroundings

of a laundry room in the back of a house. This was The Denture Clinic,

run from his home by Stephen Sicklemore. He can't almost 200

people. We were appalled. This type of activity is strictly controlled

and regulated as you would expect, and we did not expect to find

anything like this. This was not a proper laboratory and was not

summer where people should have been preparing things to go in

people's minds. Laura was one of his victims. She showed me the

dentures he made. They were so shoddy, she wore them only once.

They cost more than �700. I feel quite violated, actually. He

betrayed my trust, he took money when he shouldn't have done and I'm

quite sad. Stephen Sicklemore advertised across Devon and

Cornwall and targeted older and vulnerable people, those who

thought would be less likely to complain. The dangers he made would

often chip, crack and break soon after being warned. Fashion

dentures. He made an estimated �200,000. David Smith runs a

register and reputable rental company. He is also a member of the

General Dental Council. It helped to prosecute Stephen Sicklemore.

was the DIY dentistry. It was in a broom in his house. There was no

health and safety, things were not clean. It was not the sort of

atmosphere you would want with a hi-tech technology that we do. It

is not the right arms for to do that in. Properly qualified

dentists and technicians are registered with the General Dental

Council. The advice to avoid fraudsters is check a practitioner

with my counsel before going ahead with any treatment. -- with the

council. Peter Greene from Trading Standards

is now in our Exeter Studio to give us some more details. How did the

Stephen Sicklemore set this up? had some training. He had served an

apprenticeship as a dental technician but he didn't have the

legal qualifications to fit dentures or make them. Why did he

come to your attention? He came to our attention because the volume of

complaints. As early as 2008, we were getting complaints about his

operations and together with the General Dental Council we wrote to

him, advising him that what he was doing was illegal, but he ignored

our advice and continued and that is why he was in court today.

these people need regular checks? The industry is regulated in terms

of dentistry being regulated and dentists are checked. Their

activities are monitored. Because Stephen Sicklemore was not

registered with the GPCE and did not appear on a list of

practitioners, he would not have been inspected. It was only three

chance that we were able to act on intelligence and identify him and

were able to take action. Could someone else the operating like

this at the moment? A quite possible. If anybody does suspect

anyone providing medical services for them is not registered or

qualified, let us know. He received a suspended jail sentence, what is

your reaction? Should he continue, he is likely to be brought back

before the court and could come -- go to prison, which would give

people reassurance. Effective returning us. -- thank you for

joining us. An elderly couple from Devon say

they are lucky to be alive after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning

in their home. Stephen Blackwell raised the alarm after finding his

wife unconscious in bed when the invisible gas escaped from their

old central heating boiler. Spotlight's Scott Bingham reports.

Evelyn Blackwell had their new boiler installed after the old one

litre carbon monoxide, rendering her unconscious. She is relieved to

be alive, fax to a halt and's vigilance. -- thanks to her

husband's vigilant. They is nothing to fear, something to smell,

nothing to see. You do not feel anything in your nose or throat so

I had no idea that anything had happened to me, nothing at all.

Thousands of home owners in the South West rely on central heating

in the winter months. Carbon monoxide poisoning incidents are

rare but there is concern people are not aware of the hazards.

Because his art faulty gas appliances and Candide -- because

his calm need to gases, meat, fires and carbon monoxide poisoning and

that is the silent killer. Blackwells said this has made them

more aware of possible dangers. Branch railway lines in the South

West are being used by more people than at any point in their history.

It's been yet another record- breaking year for passenger numbers.

The six community rail lines in Devon and Cornwall have seen

numbers up 15% on the year before. Spotlight's business correspondent

reports. The line to Barnstaple is what is

typical of what is happening on our branch lines. 2011 was the first

time it had transported more than half a million people in a year.

This is the outcome of a lot of hard work, according to one of the

main railway watchdogs. It is continuing improvement in the

service. There have been increases in frequency and a liability --

reliability and a lot of promotion going on. People are being made

aware of how useful these lines are for travel. Were we were on one of

the most heavily used trains from Exeter to Barnstaple. This is not

always such an easy ride, passengers said, but on the whole,

today's branch lines are a success story. It takes cars away from the

roads. They need to be about adding another carriage, it would make a

huge difference. The two coaches mean that there are always people

standing. Be is it good or bad if people are using them in these

numbers? It is a good thing but there would be more if it was

easier. If you pay for a ticket for a seat, you need to have a seat.

They ease numbers mark a huge turnaround from the on certain days

of 2004, when it transferred secretary -- the Transport

Secretary said he could not guarantee the future of branch

lines. He famously said that we could not carry on karting fresh

air around the country. What has changed? The costs of driving and

parking have rocketed. Commuting by car into a regional centres can

work out as much a seven times as expensive as train travel. Trains

are busier than they have ever been and we are looking at working with

Devon and Cornwall councils to see how we can improve these lines

further. The challenge now is whether the region can find enough

extra carriages to stop crowded service is becoming overcrowded. --

services. Anti-capitalist protesters have

today refused to stop camping outside Exeter Cathedral. The

Cathedral authorities told the protestors yesterday they had to

leave. In a statement today, Occupy Exeter said the request to move

negated the essence of their movement. They have been on the

green since November. The police say a body has been

found on Tolcarne Beach in Newquay. The police have contacted the

family of missing surfer Oliver Doy, but no identification has taken

place and they are continuing with their enquiries.

A company where a man was crushed to death has been fined by the

Health and Safety Executive for failing to provide adequate safety

measures. Sean O'Brien was killed by the plates of a machine used to

make plastic bullets. He was working at a factory.

There is a new programme starting this weekend to round up the

region's political developments. Sunday Politics is prevented --

presented by our political editor. It is a sister programme to be

Daily Politics. We will have to guests with us throughout the

programme who will comment on all the issues. We will finish with a

round-up of the political week in the South West in 60 seconds.

And public sector pay is one of the issues you are kicking off with?

Yes, we bum Look at government plans to introduce local pay rates,

announced last autumn. -- and we will look. At the moment, public

sector pay is set nationally, which means that there are big gaps

between public and private sector pay it. In the South West, people

pay significantly more than in a private sector. The government says

that damages competitiveness in the private sector and the unions and a

business leader has said that if changes are made to bring public

sector pay down, it could have a devastating effect on the economy.

A rare bird has been spotted in Devon. The glossy ibis has turned

up again on marshes at Exminster near Exeter. It is not the first on

the rare bird has been seen there, and twitchers are out in force to

catch a glimpse. Normally, it is lapwings and peel

making a dramatic sight on these marshes. But today, on a quiet

corner of the landscape, overlooked by the main railway line to London

and the M5, a glossy ibis was looking for lunch. It has been

attracting interest from people who have lenses trained on it every

move. I put the photographs on Facebook, and somebody asked me

where they came from, so of course, I had to look it up in the book. I

see they come from south-east Europe, around that area, they

winter in tropical Africa, although you can find a few around the

Mediterranean. I was very surprised to see one here. Even passers-by

just out for a walk were managing to capture the glossy ibis on

camera. I would have liked to have got the beat! The horrors be beat

say there is so much interest in the glossy ibis, it is gently

reminding everyone who comes to have a look to stick to the

property market but paths -- the RSPB. But why it are they committed

Devon? We cannot say it is the same bird, but it goes to show how great

the estuary is, there is an abundance of food, the climate is

suitable for it, so they come back because there are such great

habitat here. It remains a mystery if this is the same bird we filmed

in 2004. But this is certainly an added attraction for those enjoying

the marshes. We were just saying how good it is

to get such close-up pictures! Normally when you gets a rare bird,

it is a dot on the horizon. Time for a look at the weekend's sport.

The Exeter Chiefs are in Italy this evening ahead of Tamara's game

against group strugglers Cavalieri Prato in the Amlin Cup. The Chiefs

beat them by 68-0 at Sandy Park in October, and now hope they can

complete the double ahead of their clash against Perpignan on next

week. In the championship, the Cornish

Pirates will take on bottom-placed Esher tomorrow, without another of

their key players. Rob and away has been ruled out for 10 weeks due to

a neck injury. -- rock and away. For Plymouth Albion, it is another

tough encounter for current head coach at Nat Saumi as he prepares

his side to face Leeds. Plymouth Argyle legend Paul Wotton

is expected to be on the team-sheet at Higham Park for Tamara's game

against Burton Albion. He has rejoined the Pilgrims after being

released by it Yeovil Town. The Plymouth born midfielder captained

are got a two promotions and made more than 400 appearances for the

Pilgrims before being shown the door by Paul Sturrock.

Elsewhere, Exeter City are hoping they can emulate last weekend's win

at Chesterfield as they host Hartlepool United. They had not won

since the end of November before breaking their dry spell. Gary

Dobson welcomes Tranmere Rovers 2 she wish Park, and Torquay had to

Macclesfield to play their first match for 12 days. Their manager

has used the break to allow his players to recover after three

games in eight days over the festive period.

It is aged huge weekend for the Plymouth Raiders as they had to

Birmingham to take on the Newcastle Eagles on Sunday in the BBL Cup

Final. The Eagles go into the game as favourites having lost just one

league game all season. Our correspondent has been to see how

the readers are planning an upset. The Plymouth Raiders face their

biggest game of the season as they take on the Newcastle Eagles in the

Cup final. You are one of the forwards. Looking forward to the

game? Very much, hopefully we will get a win. Do you think I'm any

good at this board, should I have a go? Yes! Let's see what I can do!

Also joining me is one of the new players. Your first Cup final with

the Plymouth Raiders. You played Newcastle earlier in the season and

got beaten. What did you learn from that game? We learnt that we cannot

come out sluggish at the beginning of the game. We have to focus

throughout the entire game, we have been working a lot on our defence

and offence to get ready for this game. It is a new-look team, have

you gelled together? At this point, definitely, we are playing very

well, and we are very confident. think we have got great personnel

here. We have players who were willing to put aside their

individual accolades, not interested in points, just winning

their last games. At the moment will we are very versatile team.

have seen the other guys do some slam dunks, it cannot be that

There is full commentary on the Before I go, one last thing to

mention is that the Silverton point to point will be taking place at

Black Forest Lodge near Exeter on Sunday, the first race starts at

midday. Do you think he is still hanging

there?! This is the time of year when many

of us try to get back into shape after the excesses of the festive

period. One new way of doing this is proving a big hit in South Devon.

It combines exercise with a trip back to our childhood. If he still

has any puff left, because he has been doing this for an hour, let's

go live to one of the sessions, and our reporter. He has given up

already, by the look of it! stopped briefly to show you. I had

one of these when I was a kid, we used to play show jumping. But now,

it is turning into exercise. There is a class going on hearing Marldon.

Debbie, you start of this class, how did the idea come around? --

you started this class. It is a dream come true for me. I had a

space hopper when I was little, we did shows, we played on them all

summer. I thought it was great exercise. I am a fitness instructor.

How to help people get it? Can you see the sweat? You have had a go

yourself the! Really good cardia, lots of work on the legs. So yes,

it is an all rounder... Not much on the arms. It is proving popular.

These girls love it. I have had so many requests to do it in other

places. You are going to put Mr do it as well? A yes, so new dance

studios in Totnes. I'm available for hire! Let go and look at one of

the people who have been doing it. -- let's go. It is just really good

fun. How does it help keep you fit? It helps keep my legs quite bit,

and it helps for cardiovascular. looks like it is something people

enjoy doing, which is important for exercise. It is really fun. I have

been to everyone, and it is not exactly the same each time. I have

been having a bit of ago, I think I have a bit of work to do, so I will

crack on. -- a bit over a dove. Some of them were taking off

completely! That is one way to keep warm in

this weather! We have some cold weather coming our way this weekend.

A frost is reforming, and a lot of clear skies overnight. The frost

will stay with us that the next two or three nights, daytime, also,

some sunshine. But it is a dry story through Saturday and Sunday.

Quite a bit of cloud floating around the UK, but it is thin cloud.

It will be a round again tomorrow, but then it should be a lot of fine

weather, but the high pressure is well and truly in charge. It

weakens and little bit by lunchtime on Sunday, allowing a weather front

to come in to the far west of Cornwall. For the rest of us, 18

breeze from the south-east, making it feel decidedly cold. -- a keen

breeze. There is that satellite picture in more detail. The fog,

last to clear from Yeovilton, now it is reforming again. But a lot of

blue sky today. This is the marshes, where our cameraman was enjoying

some beautiful blue sky, and if we have heard recently, there is a lot

of what life on those marshes. -- wildlife. The surf is up in

Cornwall, not big waves, but usable way this. But hardly a breath of

wind, a pleasant day for a stroll along the beach and to enjoy some

winter sunshine. Good visibility, as well. Inland, more of the mist

and fog of forming, developing most likely into Somerset and Dorset.

Overnight temperatures, dropping fairly rapidly, continuing to fall.

It will be probably the coldest night we have seen so far this

winter. Tomorrow, some bands of cloud across the English Channel,

some high-level cloud, making the sunshine easy, but it is a dry day,

and the breeze is developing, preventing too much mist and fog

forming tomorrow night. The south- east wind will make it feel cold.

With the wind chill, it will feel close to freezing. So you will need

to keep yourself warm. Tomorrow afternoon, if you fancy finding out

more about this star-gazing event, my colleague will be at the big

screen in Plymouth from 11am until 4pm, she has some expert with her

as well. -- some experts. The Still some surf around, up to three

feet of clean on the north coast, depending which way the beach is,

The outlook, on Sunday, we see more sun coming into Cornwall, for the

rest of us, a frosty start and he mainly fine day. A fine day on

Monday, with lighter wind, perhaps a bit warmer, but not by much.